


a little death

by wrennette



Series: Trashpile: A Compendium of Unfinished Fics [27]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Highlander - All Media Types
Genre: Blanket Permission, DON'T COPY OR REPOST TO ANOTHER SITE, Evil Author Day, Gen, Spike is Immortal, and also Spike is still going by William, major character death is temporary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/pseuds/wrennette
Summary: Death comes for William.
Relationships: Methos (Highlander) & Spike
Series: Trashpile: A Compendium of Unfinished Fics [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/712446
Kudos: 19





	a little death

**Author's Note:**

> happy evil author day! For those unfamiliar with the premise, ead is annually on 02/15, and we evil authors post fic titles, snippets, and so forth with absolutely zero promise that these works will be continued or completed. this fic has been languishing in my drafts for a long while without advancing, so here you go, happy ead!

William scrunched his eyes more tightly closed and moaned. This was the bloody mother of all hang overs. His head felt like it was being used as a stage for tap dancing elephants. His mouth felt like it was full of talcum powder and sand, and his body felt like he had been soundly beaten and thrown in front of a cart. His headache intensified as a strong hand gripped him by the shoulder. 

"Rough night lad?" asked a vaguely amused voice. "Come on then, up with you. Let's get you off the streets." 

William fought back a moan. His head was absolutely pounding. The man hauled him up though, and half dragged him a ways to a rather dingy row house. In the front room, his host waved aromatic salts under his nose. He sneezed a few times, eyes watering as he finally looked up at the other man, and his headache cleared. 

"Feeling alright then?" The man asked. He nodded, still a bit out of it. 

"Could I please have a drink Sir?" William asked politely. The man drew away, and he was finally able to get a look at him. A fairly average fellow, slightly underfed, with dark brown hair, what would politely be called an aristocratic nose, high hollow cheekbones and deeply set hazel eyes. He was dressed very simply and not at all richly. 

"I am Dr. Benjamin Adams," the brunet said, handing William a small glass of sherry. "I have brought you to my own home and office. I'm afraid it isn't much, but you are very welcome to recover here." He took a sip of the sweet wine, blushing slightly under the doctor's intent gaze. 

"Thank you Sir," William accepted politely. "That would perhaps be best. I feel rather disoriented still. My name is William Pratt, by the way. I must have been drinking, but I'm afraid I don't remember anything." His tone dropped, almost speaking more to himself than the doctor. "There was a woman, not Cecily, some other woman. Like a dark princess she was, a goddess. She asked me for a kiss I think, but I cannot seem to recall." Finally his muttered narrative trailed off as the doctor settled a hand on his shoulder. 

"William, you must listen closely," Adams urged William gently but firmly. "That was no sweet woman you saw, but a murderer and a thief. She lured you into that alley, and took not only your wallet, but your life." He lifted his eyes, confused and surprised. "There are those who walk among men, looking like them in every way. And yet they are not men. They are Immortal. William, you are an Immortal." 

William drew away from Dr. Adams. Surely the man was delusional, perhaps entirely mad. To his surprise however, the doctor turned, rummaging through a drawer and producing a slim surgical knife. 

William could not help but to cry out sharply in surprise as Adams calmly drew the knife across the pale flesh of his own palm. Blood welled up dark and red from the parted flesh, and the doctor calmly wiped it away. William stared in amazement as flashes of blue light danced over the small wound, soon closing it entirely. The skin of Adams' hand knit itself back together so tightly there was not even a scab or a scar. 

"Do you believe me?" Adams asked him softly, and he could only stare in response. "William," the brunet addressed him softly. "You will not age any further. You will never again be ill. You cannot be killed save by decapitation. It is not all fun and games, this Immortal life, there are killers among us, men and women who hunt the others of us. They seek the Quickenings of their opponents, this energy that flows inside us, repairing any damage that our bodies undergo. 

“I am not one of these, I have not taken life in many long years, but I will defend myself, and I will teach you to defend yourself as well. But this Immortality William, you must keep it secret. If those outside our kindred were to discover us, we would be in terrible danger. There are other rules, but I will teach you those later. I will take you as my student, teach you all I know, prepare you for eternity."

William sat back, trying to digest all that he had been told. Immortality. Curious, he reached out, taking the scalpel from the table. Glancing up, he met the eyes of the doctor, then drew the blade across his palm, as the brunette had. Dr. Adams gently lifted his hand, wiping away the blood with his handkerchief. A moment later, the strange blue flashes of light began to dance across the cut, sealing the wound, then healing it entirely, leaving his hand unblemished.

"What do I have to learn?" William asked cautiously, and Dr. Adams smiled. 

"Swordsmanship, French, Latin, a profession. You will be alive a long time yet young William, you need to learn how to blend in and fade out of sight. In this day and age, our kind cannot become well known people. It is too great a risk. There is much to be learned."

"Will I...will I have to leave my mother?" William asked next. "She is very ill, I...I cannot just leave her." The doctor smiled slightly. 

"Perhaps I will hire you, as my general assistant? I will do what I can for your mother, and I will have plenty of time to train you. How does that sound as a plan?" 

William could feel his face breaking into a smile. "I would be honored sir. I...I am a gentleman by birth, but I haven't the means to live as one with my mother's illness. And if I knew a little doctoring of my own, I could care for her the better. You have lifted a great weight off my shoulders Dr. Adams. I will do my best by you." Hazel eyes sparkled slightly. 

"I have no doubt of it William," Adams said quite gently. "I have great confidence in you."

"Another question, Dr. Adams. I...I can never marry can I? A wife would notice I never aged, never died." The older man smiled, but it was still a somewhat sad expression. 

"You can marry," Adams said. "I have been married many times. But you will have to find ways to appear to die, or just disappear, leaving your wife behind. It is a thing that breaks your heart each time you do it. And yet it is the only way." He shuddered slightly at the thought of it. 

"Could I not marry another Immortal?" William asked, and the doctor smirked slightly. 

"It is possible," Adams answered. "But the game makes it rather difficult. If it came to it, could you behead your own wife? Could you live with yourself after that?" William sat thinking a few moments. If he were forced, could he kill his beloved Cecily? Could he leave her? Could he pretend to die and abandon her? 

"I think perhaps I shall always be a bachelor," William said softly, then sighed. "Just as well I suppose. The one I love has told me I am nowhere near good enough for her." Benjamin gave a sad little half smile. 

"Women who say such things are rarely worthy of your time lad," Adams offered. "Now. Let's get you bathed and dressed. You ought to fit into one of my spare suits. I don't keep servants, so hopefully you can complete your own toilet."

* * *

It was later than Methos really liked to be out and about, the Quickening he had just taken sizzling through him, refusing to settle. As he passed the mouth of an alley, he felt the faint jumpy hum of a Pre-Immortal. As he turned slightly to look though, the feeling faded. A bad feeling settled over him. He checked his Ivanhoe in its holder and entered the dim alley. A slight young woman was near the far end, humming against another figure. As his eyes adjusted, he realized the woman's mouth was attached to the other figure at the throat. 

"Step away madame," Methos said softly, but very firmly. "Step out of the shadow." She turned, and he gripped the Ivanhoe tighter. He had seen such creatures before in his life, but usually they avoided his kind. Her face was more animal than human, with huge golden eyes and long sharp canines. She growled low in her throat. 

Knowing he should not give her the chance to speak, he drew his sword and decapitated her with a single motion. She dissolved into dust. He leaned close to the form slumped against the wall. He didn't have the time to wait for the boy to awaken, or the strength to carry him tonight. But they were near enough to his house. He could keep an eye out. He was almost certain the young man would awaken from this first death. 

Satisfied with his plan, the Immortal currently known as Dr. Benjamin Adams made his way back to his row house. He stripped and hung up his threadbare suit, then collapsed into his bed. Morning came too soon, and he woke as the neighbor's rooster began to sputter and crow. He dressed quickly in a fresh shirt and the same suit he had worn the day before, then went down to his kitchen for a thin breakfast of tea and toast. He went to the market as soon as the sun was fully up, and bought a new loaf and some eggs and cheese. On his way back he ducked into the alley. The man was still dead. 

With the brighter light, he took a closer look at what might be a new Immortal. He had longish strawberry curls haloed around a pale, sharp-cheeked face. There was an open cut lacing through one of his dark brows, and it would scar, probably make him look slightly rakish. His suit had been the height of fashion two seasons past, and his sleeves were almost an inch too short. 

He was slim, slight even, but full grown, with a hawk like nose, deep sunk eyes, and square jaw. Hopefully he wasn't overly given to thievery, knavery, fits of violence or delusions of grandeur. If he was willing to work, the Immortal knew he could get on with just about anyone for a short time.

Whenever he could steal a few moments from his practice, he darted out to the side alley to check on the young man. There was never any change. He began to doubt his initial supposition. He would give the boy until the following night though, then he would call the authorities. Still, he was fairly certain of what he had felt. 

The boy was going to be an Immortal. He was almost positive. And hopefully, he turned out to be a decent person. He really didn't feel like taking a newborn Quickening, but he would to keep this neighborhood safe. He liked it here, and he had only just arrived. He thought he might like to live peacefully for a little while. 

The next morning on his way home from a house call, he felt a low Quickening as he approached the alley. The boy was alive, if not quite awake. Exsanguination was not a fun way to die. The boy probably felt like he had the worst hangover imaginable. He woke him more fully and helped him back to his home. His eyes were ice blue and bloodshot, bleary with pain and confusion. 

After introducing himself as Benjamin Adams, and finding the boy's name was William, he told him of Immortality. The boy took it with surprisingly few hysterics. He left out exactly what sort of killer the lovely woman was, but he knew that eventually he would teach William about the supernatural as well. For all his many years, he had seen very little that could not be explained, but he also knew that there were many things in the world beyond human comprehension. 

When William was bathed, and dressed in one of his spare suits, Methos made some tea and toasted some cheese on bread. He asked after the health of William's mother, their household income, and the boy's hobbies and activities. He guessed the new Immortal's age at around 25, not too many years younger than his own physical age. When William had finished his meal, he packed his doctoring bag and they walked the few blocks to the blond's house. It was in a nicer neighborhood than his own, but it was still far from the aristocracy. A fallen gentlemen was the best his new pupil could claim. 

There was little to be done for the woman. She was beyond the help of even the most modern medicines, as well as all the older cures he knew. He pitied William that. Watching loved ones die and knowing you would continue on through countless years was one of the most painful aspects of Immortality. All he could do was help ease her last days so she wouldn't die in lingering pain. 

Over the next few weeks, William proved to be an apt pupil, in both survival skills and medicine. He had an engaging mind and a keen wit, both things Ben admired in others. He was slightly prone to laziness and excessive sentimentalism, but those were very small flaws, and Ben saw them as much as characteristics of modern society as character flaws in his pupil. He could not even truly castigate the boy for laziness, as he was somewhat prone to it himself. Overall, it was a comfortable arrangement. 

William lived with his mother, took care of her. After breakfast, the boy would arrive at his house for lessons in languages and history. William accompanied him on house calls and assisted with those who came to the office. 

A few months after he took William as his student, the boy's mother passed away. Always somewhat over emotional, the boy fell into a deep state of melancholia. Methos helped take care of the rather shabby funeral and the selling of the estate. William kept very little that had been his mother's, only a few photographs, letters and jewels. 

The rest, including the house, was sold at auction. He placed the profit in an account for the boy after paying off what remained of the boy's debts. William moved into his house, and not too long after, started attending public lectures at the Royal Academy. 

Methos was quite pleased and rather proud of William's desire to better himself. The boy had a rather healthy amount of curiosity, and a good mind. Between lectures at the Academy and lessons in both languages and swordsmanship at the house, his only real worry was that William would burn himself out. But the boy's enthusiasm never waned. 

William was constantly seeking to improve in everything he did. And in most things, the enthusiasm and dedication produced results. Not however, in the lad's abysmal poetry. After a few months of lectures, William set his poetics aside, and the doctor breathed a sigh of relief. For someone as emotional as William, honestly critiquing his poetry would be a terrible blow. 

The two of them lived quietly and without much fuss. William was soon a doctor in his own right. They worked together, saving their pennies and continuing their training. They also grew closer. William became as much a brother to him as any man not related to him could be. It had been a great many years since he had felt such a sense of comradeship with another Immortal. 

But would William continue to be his friend and companion if he knew the secrets he guarded as closely as his true name? It was impossible to know until he revealed that past to the younger man, and he dreaded the day when that became a necessity. There would come a day, he was certain of that. But he hoped that it would not come for some time yet.


End file.
